A comment on comments

I'm sitting here laughing out loud reading responses to this weeks music. Most people seemed to really enjoy it for a change. I got some very encouraging notes from "Loved the music!!" to "Do the Folk thing again soon!" And then a couple anonymous "I hated the music tonight" notes. It's amazing how opposite ends people are always on. It's funny how most criticism is anonymous about music. Interesting. Well, Noel had a great post about criticism and he basically groups people into three categories: Bereans, Encouragers, and Cowards. What separates the Bereans and the Cowards, I would say, is their heart, their tone, and their attitude. Good stuff to think about. Read his whole post.

It's interesting being in a position where I hear positive and negative criticism almost every week. It can be really distracting either way, either pride can creep in when we are praised for doing a good job or insecurities tear at us when we are slandered. This comes when too much personal value is connected to our task. But it is complicated because we are leading people in corporate worship because of God and for God, but we are also serving the body, it isn't just us up there singing our praises to God, it's that plus the act of leading others in their praise of God. It gets tricky because you want to make music in which people will become mindful of God and it's easier for some people to connect with God using different kinds of music. I'm sure some monks in Germany, genuinely feel like they are able to think heavenward during a chant, whereas it's easier for me to hear a guitar solo and think of God.

One thing I hear sometimes from people is "we went to another church on vacation and their music was sooooo slooowwww..." or "they had no young people there..." but this is the same type of thing is going on. These words meant to encourage are sometimes slaps on the face to another group of Christians. We are needlessly criticising our brothers and sisters who are trying to serve God in a different way. It all adds up to elitism and that takes away from the Gospel and from God, because in the end, God gets the glory. He's the one who deserves it.

There is a really good thing about encouragement if it is done right. It's understanding "God is using you" rather than, "you are better than some other people." It's hard to tell the difference, but I know when my heart is wrong on this. I see the way God is working in something that I'm not a part of and sometimes I feel like "man, that's a dumb way to go about things etc..." But the cool thing about God is that he is the one working, not us. And he loves those people and he loves that they are responding to him. Sometimes we get lucky and he uses us to do great things, but when we see him face to face, He gets the glory.


But It's a crazy tension we have here. I think we all face situations where we either get too much affirmation or not enough and that affects us. We should always strive for balence and do thinks "as unto the Lord." Our goal in everything we do should be to please God. That means everything. Treating our families well, doing the dishes well, not gossiping about our boss, working even when we aren't being watched. Things change when God is your boss.